Whatever you call it, the budget agreement worked out by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Mich., and their committee might turn out to be a big deal. It represents the art of compromise sticking its foot in the door of Congress.

Itís a two-year deal, which means that if it is passed by Congress, House and Senate members could quit lurching from one fiscal crisis and cliff to the next for at least that long. Those recurring crises have been sucking all the energy out of the capitol and pushing everything else to the legislative sidelines.

Perhaps, if the budget wars can be set aside for two years, Congress could works on matters such as immigration reform and helping the economy reach full recovery ó instead of setting the economy back with recurring threats of default and the fiscal chaos that would bring. At the very least, the parties could fight about disagreements other than the budget for two years.

This deal truly fits the definition of compromise: It makes everyone unhappy.

It doesnít extend unemployment benefits for those out of work longer than 26 weeks, which Democrats wanted. It doesnít significantly reduce the federal deficit, which Republicans wanted. (Thereís a largely symbolic reduction of $23 billion over a decade.)

But it does restore about $63 billion in automatic ďsequestrationĒ cuts, offsetting them with fee hikes and targeted cuts. Federal workers, retired military under age 62, airline travelers and health care providers who treat Medicare patients would bear the brunt of the cuts and fee hikes.

And maybe, just maybe, it this little deal makes it through Congress, it will pave the way for sensible compromises on some much bigger deals ó maybe, eventually, even the long-sought grand bargain to put the federal government on a sound fiscal trajectory.